


The Winter Soldier and the Spark

by vghz82



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26140504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vghz82/pseuds/vghz82
Summary: A women suffers an accident that gave her the ability to control electricity, but also made her a widow.Nick fury shows up and offers her a chance to take control of her powers and life. Can she overcome her grief with the help of the Winter Soldier?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, James “Bucky” Barnes & Reader
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

Today started off as one of the best days you had in a while. Surprisingly, you had slept through the night without any dreams and woke up feeling rested. 

After two cups of coffee and a few episodes of New Girl, you managed to get up and get dressed for the first time in two weeks. Albeit, it was only workout clothes but still, you had on a bra. 

You glanced at yourself in the mirror and sighed when you noticed the dark purple circles under your eyes. You'd always had dark circles, courtesy of your mom, but they'd been worse since the accident. It was probably unreasonable to expect that they'd be better after one good night of sleep but you'd hoped. 

You took in the state of your hair tangled, dirty and limp. You couldn't remember the last time you brushed it, so after staring for a few more minutes, you picked up the brush next to you and started to work on your hair. After ten solid minutes of brushing, you put your hair into a low ponytail and walked back out to your couch. 

You zoned back into the tv for a few more hours until you felt your stomach rumble. While debating how difficult it would be to get up, your stomach rumbles again so you got up and put some water onto boil for a pack of ramen. 

That's when you heard the knock on the door. 

You were confused on who it would be since your grocery delivery wasn't scheduled for two more days and you hadn't had any other visitors in months. 

"Good thing you got dressed today" you mumbled. 

You walked over and opened the door to find a large intimidating man standing in front of your door. He wore a charcoal grey turtleneck and a black leather jacket along with black jeans and boots. The oddest thing about him though was the eyepatch. 

"Hello (y/n), my name is Nick Fury. We have some business to discuss." 

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" You asked confused. You felt like you'd heard that name before, but couldn't where. 

"Possibly, but I know all about you. I work with some interesting individuals who I believe could be of some service to you. May I come in?" 

Interesting individuals.. what did that mean? Then it hit you, the Avengers. Nick Fury of Shield and the Avengers. He was here because he knew about.. whatever is was that you could do. You felt a sudden surge of panic run through your body. What did they want from you? We're they going to lock you up? Did they want you to become one of them?

"May I come in, (y/n)?" Nick repeated to break you out of your trance. 

You stepped aside and gestured towards the couch. He strode inside took a quick look around and seated himself in your leather arm chair. You walked over and sat as far away on the couch as you could. No one has sat in that chair since the accident. It was.. his chair. 

"Do you know why I'm here?" Nick spoke breaking you out of your trance again.  
"No." You lied.  
"(Y/n), I'm here because we keep watch for talented individuals, help them take control of their gifts and become helpful members of society."  
"What does that have to do with me?" Your voice wavered. 

Nick lifted and eyebrow and placed what looks like a cell phone on your coffee table. A hologram came up from the gadget which showed security footage. Your stomach dropped. 

First, the footage showed a women trying to check out her groceries, but when she reached up to touch the self check out screen, the screen zapped and the entire row of machines shut off. Next it showed the women hustling down the street. As she passed each light pole, the light suddenly flickered out and then turned back on once she was a good distance away. 

You were the women in the footage. 

"This you?" Nick questioned, his eyebrow still raised.   
You stared at him trying to decide how to respond. 

"You don't need to respond, I already know it is."   
"Then why are you here?" Your voice came out steadier than you felt.   
"I'd like to help you."   
You waited for him to continue.   
"I'd like you to come to our facility and learn to control your powers."   
"So I can become an Avenger?" You questioned.   
"So you can walk down the street without sucking up all the electricity in the block." 

You paused trying to absorb what he was offering. 

"My offer is this" he stated. Your eyes narrowed that he successfully guessed what you were thinking for the second time. 

"Come to our facility, take some tests, get control of your powers and then if you wish you can return to your normal life."

You snorted internally. Ha! What life?

"And if I don't wish to return to my normal life?" 

He surveyed you for a moment.   
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." 

You stared at each other for a few more minutes when he suddenly stood up. He set a black business card down on the coffee table and said "Give me an answer in the next 24 hours if you like to take me up on my offer." Then he walked straight out the door without looking back. You stared at the door and then back at the black business card which had a white phone number in the middle and no other information. 

You looked at the card until you heard the sound of water sizzling over the pot.   
"Oh shit!" You exclaimed and ran to the stove. You flipped the burner off with the card still in your hand. 

"What am I gonna do?" You whispered into your empty home.


	2. Chapter 2

You attempted to go to bed early that night after a long day of pacing around your home. The edges of the black business card were frayed from picking it up and setting it down over and over. After tossing and turning for hours, you gave up on sleep and weighed out the options. 

On the one hand, the lack of control of your powers has affected every aspect of your life. You barely turned lights on in your home since the light bulbs would burst when you lost control of your emotions. Showering was no longer relaxing when you could hear the water sizzling on the electricity buzzing on your skin. Not to mention how you barely ever left the house for fear that you'd bump into somebody and shock them or wind up on more security footage. 

However, it had been difficult to do those things anyway since Jesse had died. You'd both lost all your family and friends during The Snap and the following five years were ugly. It was difficult to watch society fall to pieces around you, but at least you still had each other. Then, you got your family back with The Blip, only to lose Jesse two months later to a car crash. 

It was cruel really, to survive a galactic terrorist attack, only to have him taken away by a simple car crash. But you know what they say, "Life's a bitch."

You were driving home from your friends house, still celebrating the Avengers victory when the semi barreled through the median directly into the drivers seat of Jesses Jeep. He was killed on impact. When you closed your eyes, you could still see the lights flickering as the Jeep rolled down the hill, tossing you from the car, directly into the utility line. You would have thought that being electrocuted for as many minutes as it took the first responders to arrive and cut off the power would have killed you. But no, you walked away unscathed, mysterious new powers, and your husband gone. 

After his death, it was nearly impossible to go on. You didn't feel like life was worth living anymore, especially now that you had to deal with these powers. You quit your job, stopped answering the phone when it rang, and essentially lost contact with everyone you knew.

Some days you could find enjoyment in the little things like the fall colors of the leaves on the trees, or a good cup of coffee. Other days, something like a smell would trigger a memory of Jesse and you couldn't get out of bed. 

Another variable was that you didn't know if you could trust Nick Fury and the Avengers. You'd seen the destruction in New York, the leaked files from Shield and their legendary disagreement at the Berlin Airport. Is that the life you wanted? Constantly running around, fighting, pain? 

Although, Nick Fury didn't really even offer to have you join the Avengers! He just said they wanted to train you so you could get your life back on track. And besides, you didn't have much going for you anyway. 

You felt the weight of your decision settle into your stomach and you glanced at the clock; it was 5am. You picked up the black business card one more time and dialed the number into your phone. You guessed Nick Fury was an early riser so you hit call button. 

The phone rang one time before the line was picked up.

"Yes?" You heard a women's voice answer.  
"Oh, hello. I thought this was Nick Fury's number."  
"Yes." She answered shortly.  
"Um, my name is (y/n) (l/n). I was calling Mr. Fury back to tell him yes I would like to take him up on his offer." ...Mr. Fury? you thought to yourself. Could you be more awkward?  
"We'll pick you up in one hour." The women responded. "Bring everything you need for the foreseeable future."  
"Oh, okay. Is there anything else I need to know?"  
"No." The women replied and the line was cut off.  
"Well alrighty then." You spoke to your empty bedroom.

You jumped up and got dressed in jeans, a grey T-shirt, grey vans, a black zip up hoodie and your dads old green bomber jacket. You ran downstairs to grab a suitcase and your backpack and started to fill them with any clothes and toiletries you'd need. You hesitated when you saw Jesse's clothes still hung up on the right side of the closet. You snagged a couple of his flannels since you liked to sleep in them and then shut the closet door.

You scurried around the house grabbing headphones, phone chargers, and of course, books. You checked the clock which showed 5:50am and sat down on the couch anxiously bouncing your leg and chewing your nails. 

Your mother always hated that you chewed on your nails. She tried everything to get you to stop. Swatting you're hand away, constant nagging and even this specific gross fingernail polish that was supposed to cure it. None of it worked though. 

You heard a knock on the door that jolted you from your thoughts and you ran to open it. Standing at your door was a tall, thin woman with brown hair pulled into a low bun. She gave you a measuring look and said "It's time to go." 

You glanced behind her and saw a black SUV with blacked out windows parked in the street. 

"Uh, okay" you started to say when she turned around and walked toward the SUV. You grabbed your suitcase and backpack and headed to the car, then thought Shit, did I turn everything off? 

You ran back into the house, scurried around to ensure the coffee pot, etc. was all off and then went back out the door stopping to turn on the alarm and lock the house. 

When you opened the door to the SUV, Nick Fury was sitting in the drivers seat and the women was next to him. You clambered inside and Nick said  
"(y/n), This is Agent Maria Hill."  
"You can call me Agent Hill." She stated.  
"Nice to meet you." You responded, although you weren't entirely sure that was the truth.

After a few minutes of silence, you asked,  
"Um, where exactly are we going?"  
"New York" Nick Fury answered. "To Avengers tower."

You took a deep breath and watched out the window and you were driven away from your home.


	3. Chapter 3

You were slightly confused when Fury pulled off the road into a slightly run down private airport. He drove to the back of the building and parked the car. Fury and Agent Hill stepped out of the SUV so you followed suit and then you saw the jet. It looked more like a hovercraft than a plane. You'd seen things like this on tv, but never in person. 

You quickly grabbed your belongings and followed after them climbing up the ramp into the jet. Agent Hill seated herself in the pilots seat and pushed a bunch of buttons bringing the jets roaring to life. Fury looked back at you and directed you to place your suitcase and backpack in a storage bin over to the right and you took a seat behind Fury. 

It took you a minute to buckle yourself in since it was more like a harness than the seatbelts you were used to. Once you clicked the last buckle, the jet started to rise into the air, and took off like a bullet. 

The ride wasn't a turbulent or as long as you thought it might have been. You gasped slightly when Agent Hill started to drive the jet into the middle of New York City weaving through skyscrapers. Then you saw it, Avengers tower. Agent Hill drove straight up to the building hesitating just outside the glass, held down a button on the dashboard and said  
"Friday, please open up the hanger."  
"Right away, Agent Hill." You heard a soft female voice respond. 

The glass panes in the skyscraper started to shift leaving rectangular shaped hole in the side of the building which Agent Hill directed the jet into. 

"Friday is the AI system that runs throughout the building. Starks design." Nick said.  
"She'll tell you anything you need to know about your schedule or the building." 

You didn't feel the need to respond so you just watched as the plane landed inside the building. Fury then gave you a quick tour of the building. You saw the gym, conference rooms, the kitchen and the connecting common area. He then directed you to where your bedroom would be.  
"Here's your room. If you need anything, ask Friday and she'll have it delivered. Dr. Banner will be expecting you at 9:30am sharp tomorrow morning in his lab on the 10th floor for some preliminary tests and physicals." stated Fury.  
"Okay. Thank you." You responded and he started to walk away. 

You looked back at your new bedroom door and started to open the handle when you heard someone say: "Oh hey! You must be the new girl!"  
You turned and saw a teenaged boy with brown hair bounding down the hall at you.  
"Hi! My name's, Peter! Peter Parker!" He said enthusiastically and waived. 

"Hi peter, my name is (y/n)" you replied with a smile.  
"That's a cool name! Did you just get here? Did you get to see a tour of the place?!" He asked.  
"Yeah, I got here a bit ago and Nick Fury showed me around” You smiled again because this sweet kid was growing on you fast.  
"Have you been in your room yet? I can show you around!"  
"Sure, that'd be great!" You responded and opened the door.

You opened the door to a large sitting area with a dark grey couch and a striped accent chair and a black rectangular coffee table. On your right was a kitchen bar with a few high top seats. The kitchen was stocked with a fridge, sink, dishwasher and stovetop, but no oven. There were floor to ceiling glass panes covering the entire wall across from the door that showed the city skyline. 

“Can people see in these windows from the outside?” You asked peter as you walked up to the glass.  
“Nope! It’s one way glass. It’s also shatter and bullet proof!”  
“Ah, that’s probably good considering who lives here” you teased. 

“Your bedroom and bathroom are over here!” Peter led you to a door off the right side of the kitchen. You saw the bathroom door right next to it and figured it must connect to the bedroom as well. The bedroom also had the floor to ceiling windows and a large queen bed with crisp white sheets. There was another accent chair in the back corner of the bedroom with a coffee table and a foot rest. 

You set your luggage down on the bed and started to look around. 

“I can show you how to work the tv and talk to Friday!” Peter said and jumped back through the bedroom door. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table and started to show you how to work the television. It was a bit more complicated that you were used to since it was all Stark tech. When Peter saw the glare on the tv, he said “Friday, would you close the blinds?”  
The female voice echoed around you, “Yes, Peter. Shade or blackout?”  
“Shade, please.” He answered and blinds started to work their way down the glass windows.  
“Thanks, Friday!” Peter said.  
“My pleasure.” Friday responded. 

“What all can Friday do?” You asked peter.  
“Oh she can do everything!” Peter explained.  
“If you need directions around the building, specific groceries, new books or tools, she can deliver messages to people or tell you where they are in the building! She basically runs the place.”  
“Hmm, that’s pretty cool”  
“Totally!” Peter smiled. 

You and peter sat on the couch for awhile as he showed you more about how to work the tv. Then he asked “So did Mr. Fury just contact you today?”  
Ah, so he says Mr. Fury also. Maybe your not as awkward as you thought. Well at least more awkward as this 16 year old boy. 

“He showed up at my house yesterday and he and Agent Hill picked me up this morning.” You replied.  
“Ah” he said. “Honestly, Agent Hill kind of scares me..” he whispered.  
You smiled  
“Yeah, me too! It’s the one word answers for me.” You whispered conspiratorially. 

Peter gasped. “Do you have a tik tok?!”  
“Oh yeah! I couldn’t live without it!”  
“Yes! Finally someone cool lives here!” Peter pumped his fist. You chuckled.  
“Want to watch some now?” He asked hopefully.  
“Definitely!” You responded. 

You spent the next few hours watching tik tok and laughing when he suddenly looked at his phone.  
“Oh crap! I gotta go! My Aunt May will be here any minute! She’s taking me out to dinner.” He explained.  
“Well you better get going then! Thanks for showing me around today.” You said.  
“My pleasure! Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asked.  
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” You responded. 

He left after getting your phone number so you could send tik toks to each other. You shut the door behind him and turned back to your new home. You looked around for a bit then let out a big sigh. 

“So far so good” you said to yourself. Then you made your way into the bedroom to start unpacking.


	4. Chapter 4

After you unpacked your bags, you looked around for a clock which showed it was around 6:00pm. You shuffled into the kitchen and opened the fridge and pantry trying to get the lay of the land. 

"Um.. Friday?" You tentatively called out  
"Yes, (y/n). How can I help you?" Friday responded.  
"What do people around here usually do for dinner?" You asked.  
"The team usually has family dinner at 6:30, but they are all out on a mission tonight."  
"Ah gotcha. Thank you, Friday."  
"My pleasure. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Friday asked.  
"Well actually yes, could I give you a list of groceries?"  
"Absolutely, what would you like?" She responded. 

You told her a few staple items and then went back to shifting through the pantry. You decided to make yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and you grabbed a book to start reading. After it had gotten dark outside, you decided to hit the hay and try to get a goods night sleep before your tests with Dr. Banner in the morning. You asked Friday to blackout the lights and set an alarm for 8:00am the next day and you quickly fell asleep. 

You were sitting in the passenger seat dancing along to a song on the radio, when you looked over to your left and saw Jesse laughing at your goofy dance moves. You gently pushed his shoulder away to teasingly reprimand him for laughing at you, when the bright lights of the semi lit up the car. You had just started to scream when you jolted awake. 

You looked around trying to remember where you were. You recognized your new bedroom and started to talk yourself down. "It was just a dream. It was just a dream" you repeated to yourself. 

"Friday, what time is it?" You asked out loud.  
"It's 2:35am." Friday responded quietly.  
You sighed deeply and stared at the ceiling. You always had a hard time going back to sleep after a nightmare about the car wreck. 

You decided to go upstairs to the common room and read a bit. It was really late so you likely wouldn't run into anybody. You there on a sweatshirt, shorts and running shoes and made your way out the door. 

You quietly tiptoed down the hallway and into the elevator as not to alert anyone that you were awake. You walked out of the elevator into the dark common room and started to move toward where you remembered the couches being. Your eyes started to adjust and you made it to the couch and reached over to turn on the lamp. You flicked on the lamp and turned around. 

You gasped suddenly, "Holy shit!" You exclaimed as you fell sideways onto the couch. There was a man sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. He sat up and started to reach a hand out as you fell over almost like he was going to try to help you and then thought better of it. 

The lamp flickered for a moment as your heart raced and you felt pin prickles on your skin. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The man said looking slightly alarmed.  
"Oh no, it's okay." You responded as your breathing started to return to normal. "I'm just a bit jumpy." 

You surveyed the man for a minute. He had long brown hair that hung just past his shoulders, a scruffy beard and piercing blue eyes. You realized that you were staring at him and suddenly looked down. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize anyone was up here." You said as you started to get up, intending to go back to your room.  
"It's fine." He hesitated "You don't have to leave."  
You looked up at him again. "Are you sure? I don't mind going back.." you trailed off.  
He lifted his hand to gesture for you to sit back down on the couch. You slowly sat back down. 

"Um.. do you want the light off?" You asked.  
"No, no." He said.  
You nodded and reached for your book, opening up to where you left off. 

After a few seconds you glanced up at him and said "My name is (y/n), by the way."  
He was silent for a few moments and said "I'm Bucky." 

Then it clicked who he was. He was Bucky Barnes, Captain America's best friend, the winter soldier, former weapon of Hydra. You remembered reading about him in history books in school and watching the news when it came out that he was alive and working for hydra. You'd felt relieved when the news reported that he was framed for that bombing of the accords signing. 

You nodded again and you looked back down at your book and said "Nice to meet you." 

You kept looking down at your book, but you weren't really reading any of the words. 

"Are you.. do you live here now?" He asked you.  
You looked back up at him.  
"Um yeah, I just moved in today." You responded.  
"So are you going to be an Avenger?" He asked you again. His gaze was so intense it was hard to look away from his eyes.  
You laughed softly and glanced down. "No, no I don't think so."  
He was quiet for another moment. "Then why are you here if not to be an Avenger?" Bucky questioned. Man, he was direct. 

"Uh, well, Nick Fury showed up at my door and offered to help me control.." you trailed off.  
".. what happened to me... And then I'll go back home." 

He was quiet for a moment thinking about your words.  
"So you have powers?" He asked.  
"Uh yeah, I guess you could call it that." You answered. You never really thought about it that way because you considered it more of an inconvenience than a gift. 

"But you don't want to be an Avenger?" He asked, breaking you from your thoughts.  
"I wasn't really offered a job. Besides, I'm probably not cut out for it." You mused.  
"Why?" Bucky questioned you again.  
You shrugged, "Well you saw how I collapsed just by the shock of you sitting there so I might not be very effective in battle." You laughed and smiled slightly. 

Bucky regarded you for a while and you looked back down at your book. You both were quiet for a moment. After staring at the pages for a few more minutes you glanced back up at him. He was watching you intently. 

"Did you all get back from your mission recently?" You asked.  
"We got back a few hours ago... why?" He responded.  
"You're just awake and it's pretty late so I didn't know if you just got in."  
"Oh.. no. You're awake." He pointed out.  
"I don't sleep much." You confessed.  
"I don't either" Bucky responded. 

You fell quiet again and looked back at your book. 

"What are you reading?" Bucky asked you.  
"Uh, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone." You replied. After looking at the somewhat puzzled expression on his face you asked, "Have you ever heard of it?"  
"No." He responded. He furrowed his brow and you guessed that he was frustrated that he didn’t understand the reference. 

"It's probably one of the most popular book series ever written. Would you like to borrow it?" You offered.  
He searched your eyes for awhile and your face started to heat up.  
"Sure, whenever your done with it." He replied.  
"You can have it now, I've read it dozens of times." You started to get up to hand it to him and he reached his hand out to grab it. When you passed him the book, your finger accidentally brushed his and the shock of touching him sent a bolt of electricity through you, and shocked his hand. He jerked his hand back from the pain. 

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I don't know how to control.. it yet."  
"It's okay.. You could say I'm just jumpy too." He gave you a small reassuring smirk. 

You felt yourself release a breath you didn't know you were holding. 

“If you like that book, there are 6 more in the series. I’ve got other books as well if you’re interested.”  
He looked into your eyes, “Thanks.”  
You smiled at him softly, “No problem.”

“Well, I think I’m going to head back up.” You said as you started to stand. “Again, it was nice to meet you, Bucky.”  
“You too.. thanks for the book.” He responded quietly. 

You walked back towards the elevator feeling like his eyes were on you the whole way.


	5. Chapter 5

You lied awake in bed trying not to overthink the interaction you just had with Bucky. He didn’t seem too bothered by your presence in the living room or by the fact that you shocked him so you tried to reason with yourself that you didn’t come off like a total spaz. 

Eventually Friday pulled up the blinds and informed you that it was about time for your appointment with Dr Banner. 

You rolled out of bed and walked over to the closet trying to decide what to wear. Eventually you settled on a pair of jeans, a tshirt and flannel and you made your way over to the elevators. When you arrived on the 10th floor there were floor to ceiling panels of fogged glass along with a hand scanner and a button. You pushed the button and heard a soft beep sound. After a few seconds a male voice responded "Hello?"   
"Uh hello, my name is (y/n). I'm here to see Dr Banner."  
"Oh yes! Come on in!" The voice responded. 

You heard another beep and one of the glass panes started to shift to the left, leaving an opening for you to walk through. There were machines moving autonomously wherever you looked and piles of books and lab equipment stacked up on each table.  
“Hello, I’m Dr Banner, but you can call me Bruce.” a voice said behind you. You turned around and blanched. He was at least 8 feet tall, green and muscly wearing a lab coat, polo and khakis.   
“Oh my apologies, I should have warned you. I combined myself with the Hulk so now I’ve got the best of both worlds!” He smiled sheepishly.   
“Hello, I’m sorry, I’m (y/n).” You shook your head feeling bad about your initial reaction. 

He started to reach out his hand to shake yours and you held your hands up defensively.   
“If I touch you, I might shock you.” You warned.   
“Oh that’s okay! Maybe we can get to that later.” He smiled and put his hands down. 

“If it’s alright, I’d like to start with a few preliminary tests, blood work, etc. to get a baseline of your health and your body’s responses. Then we can start to dive more into your powers. Does that sounds okay?” 

You felt a wave of relief that he was giving you the space to say when you were uncomfortable and it seemed like he would respect your decision. 

“Yes, that sounds great.” You responded. 

He led you over to a separate room that resembled a hospital room and gestured for you to get up on the bed. You sat sideways, your feet dangling in front of you. He took your blood pressure, heart rate and a few other typical check up items.   
“I’d like to take a sample of your blood to run some additional test, is that alright?” He asked.   
“Yes, that’s fine.” 

You removed your flannel so he could get access to your arm and laid back on the bed. He put a tie around your arm to increase the pressure. You were surprised at how gentle and precise his large hands could be. He started to tap on your arm looking for a vein.   
“Okay, this may hurt a smidge when I insert the needle.”   
You looked away and braced yourself for the pain which never came.   
“Hmm. That’s odd.” Bruce said.   
“What’s odd?” You asked looking down at him?  
“The needle won’t pierce your skin.” 

You furrowed your brow and watched as he tried again. As he put the needle to your skin, it just pushed against it, not leaving any mark in your arm.   
“Maybe I could try another needle.” He suggested and grabbed another. That needle didn’t work either.  
“Do you mind if I try pressing harder?”  
You nodded your approval and Bruce pressed the needle towards your arm with more force. The needle snapped in half. 

“(Y/n), Is your skin impenetrable?” Bruce asked with a bit of wonder behind his eyes.   
“Not that I know of.. I used to give blood all the time.”  
“Was that before the accident?” He asked.   
You fell silent for a moment. “Uh yes, it was.”   
“Interesting. I wonder if there’s other things your skin is impenetrable to. We can think up some tests for that later. In the meantime, what is your blood type?” 

You told him and he walked off to go input his notes into a computer. You stared at your arms and hands with a weird feeling in your stomach. You hadn’t noticed anything wrong with your skin lately. Except, that wasn’t true. There was that one time about a month ago that you were cutting up a watermelon and you lost your grip on the knife. You could have sworn it went right onto your thumb, but there was no mark where the knife would have been. 

Bruce came back over and led you over to a treadmill where he loaded you up with wires and led you through a series of physical tests to determine your agility, flexibility and dexterity. After that it was around noon so Bruce let you leave for lunch and you were supposed to go back around 1:30. You waited for the elevators outside his of lab and when they opened up your eyes locked onto a pair of familiar light blue eyes. 

You looked around and there were two additional people in the elevator with Bucky. A small woman with long red hair and a tall black man. All three of them looked at you and the other man said “Hi, going up?”   
“Uh yes.” You replied.   
“What floor” he asked?   
“18 please.” You responded, but the button was already pushed. The man and women you didn’t know looked at you again, but Bucky was already watching you.

“Oh you must be (y/n)” the man said.   
“I’m Sam, and this is Bucky and Wanda. Fury told us to be expecting you.” 

You thought that was odd considering Bucky had no idea who you were last night. But you supposed Peter and Bruce seemed to know who you were as well. Hmm, maybe Bucky just didn’t pay much attention. 

“Hi” you responded with a small smile.   
“Did you just get done running tests with Banner?” Sam asked.  
“Yes, but I’m supposed to go back later.”   
The doors opened on the 18th floor and all four of you started to walk out. 

“Are you getting settled in okay?” Wanda asked. “My room is right next door in case you ever need anything.” She said. “The boys rooms are down to the right and ours are down here. It’ll be nice to have another female presence around.” She smiled.   
“Thank you, yeah I’m basically all settled.” You smiled back. 

“You’ll be at family dinner tonight, right?” Sam asked. “It’s my turn to cook so you can’t miss it.”   
“Sure, I’ll be there.”   
“Good, I’d hate to have Gramps over here track you down if you don’t show!” He joked as he smacked Bucky on the chest. 

Bucky rolled his eyes as and then they landed back on you. Sam and Wanda were still laughing when she said “Well we can’t have that!”   
“We gotta go, but we’ll see you tonight!” Sam said and he started to back up. You locked eyes with Bucky again just before he turned and followed Sam down the right side of the hallway. 

You followed Wanda down to the left and she walked past your room to the door right beside it and pressed on the handle.   
“Seriously, if you ever need anything, just let me know! We’re happy to have you here.”  
“Thank you, I’m happy to be here.” You replied before walking into your room, surprised to feel that you actually meant it.


	6. Chapter 6

You ate a quick lunch and sat down to read for awhile until it was time to go back to Bruce's lab. He told you that you'd be able to come back into the lab by using the hand scanner so you let yourself in right at 1:30. Bruce was leaning over a table taking some notes and looked up once you walk in.

"Oh good, you're back!" He smiled at you. "Let's go into my office over here." 

You followed him over to a doorway into a very comfy looking office. The walls were a dark burgundy with lamps shining soft yellow light onto deep brown, wood furniture. There was a large desk towards the back of the room and a Hulk sized leather arm chair behind it. He led you over to to a leather couch and sat in a chair opposite you. 

"So I was thinking that we should start by talking about what you've noticed about your powers and how it's been affecting your daily life." Bruce said.   
"Okay."   
"Tell me about your powers."   
"Well I wanted to mention that I'd remembered this one time recently when I lost control of a knife and I thought it cut my thumb, but there wasn't any mark. So it's possible that goes back to the whole.. needle thing." You mention. Bruce nodded encouragingly.   
"What else?" 

"After the accident, it felt like I absorbed the electricity from everything around me. If I passed by a lamp or an appliance, it would shut off and I could feel the electricity seeping into my bones."   
Bruce was taking notes and nodded encouragingly, "Mhmm."  
"If I was particularly emotional or angry or sad, it the objects around me would get kind of super charged. Sometimes light bulbs would burst or the tv would flicker on and off."   
"Okay. What else?"   
"If I touched people, I would shock them. Sometimes it would be small like a static shock, but other times it would be worse."   
"What do you mean by that?"   
"Right after I found out my husband died.. I was.. a bit beside myself and some paramedics tried to lift me off the ground, but when they reached out to touch my arms I shocked them so bad.." you hesitated.   
"It's okay, (y/n). Take your time." Bruce said encouragingly. 

You took a few calming deep breaths, blinked the tears out of your eyes and continued.  
"It paralyzed them for two days." You said with your head down toward you lap. Bruce was silent for a moment and then said,   
"How did you feel about that?"   
You stared at your hands for awhile.   
"I felt like I was out of control. Like I was some disaster gone wrong and that I... I shouldn't be alive if I could cause that much pain." 

You looked up at Bruce. One corner of his mouth was curled up in a sad smile.  
"I'm sorry you went through that. I think you'll find that many of us here have also felt that at one time or another." He was silent for a moment more. 

"How did you cope with all that?" He continued.  
"Not well. I'm doing better now than I was, but I'm not all the way back to who I used to be."   
Bruce waited for you to continue.   
"I was depressed. I stopped eating, I didn't get out of bed, I didn't answer the phone when my friends and family called and eventually they stopped calling as much. I quit my job because I could barely function, not to mention I could hardly touch a computer without frying it. I stopped showering frequently because I was afraid that I'd electrocute myself or something. I swear I could hear the water crackling in the air around me." 

You stopped to take a few more deep breaths. You hadn't voiced any of this out loud and it was a bit overwhelming to put it all into words. 

"Eventually I would have a good day here or there and I'd try to capitalize on those. When I'd have the energy I'd try to journal or listen to music or go on a walk. I learned to handle the pain of Jesse's passing and the symptoms of my powers started to dull a bit."   
"That sounds like a lot to take on, on your own. Thank you for sharing with me." Bruce said quietly.

After the talking session, Bruce led you to a large empty training room with a lamp in the middle of it. He had you practice trying to turn the lamp on and off and after a few hours you were able to to do it regularly just by waving your hand across the air. He also gave you some homework to practice meditation before you went to sleep and before you showered to help ease you're anxiety and get a better control on your powers. By the time you were finished, it was time for family dinner so you and Bruce walked over to the elevators and into the common room together.

Sam was in the kitchen cooking, chatting with Wanda who was sitting on a bar stool on the island. You noticed Bucky sitting over in the same arm chair drinking a beer before Peter bounded over to you and took your attention away. 

"Hey (y/n)!" Peter said, "How was your first full day?"   
He was just as energetic as the day before and you smiled at him. "It was good! Did you have a good dinner with your Aunt?" You asked.   
"Oh yeah! We went to this awesome Thai place. I'll have to take you there sometime!"   
"That'd be great." 

"Alright y'all, it's time for dinner." Sam boomed. Everyone started to make there way over to the dining room table to take a seat. You sat with Peter on your right side and Bruce at the head of the table to your left. Sam sat across from Bruce and Bucky and Wanda were on the other side of the table. 

"Everybody dig in! Feel free to give me all your praise for my excellent cooking skills while your at it." Sam said.

You hesitated to grab food until a few people had gone, but eventually you loaded a bit of everything onto your plate. "So (y/n), sometimes we play 20 questions when a new person joins the tower so we can get to know them a bit." Sam spoke.  
"Sure" you smiled softly at him.   
"I'll go first!" Peter exclaimed. "What's your favorite movie?"   
"Oh that's tough. Can it be a tie?" You ask.   
"Sure!"   
"Then I guess it's a tie between the lord of the rings and pride and prejudice."  
"Good choice! We at least Lord of the Rings is a good choice." Sam replied with a smirk. 

The rest of dinner went by with much of the same. Sam, Wanda, and Peter asked you questions about where you were from, what you used to do, your hobbies and interests. Bruce would throw in a comment every once in awhile while Bucky just sat and watched the exchanges. After your plates were clean and everything was put away, everyone started to make their way back to their individual rooms. You decided to try to meditate like Bruce suggested before you hopped in the shower. 

You put on some calming music, sat on your bed and tried to let your mind focus on your breathing. After you were throughly relaxed you stepped into the bathroom and started up the water. You managed to make it all the way through your shower without panicking. After you dried off, you weren't feeling tired so you decided to grab a few books and head back to the common room to read for a few hours. You grabbed pride and prejudice since you thought about earlier and the second Harry Potter book. 

You nestled yourself into the couch upstairs and began to read. You were several chapters into Pride and Prejudice when you were startled by a soft cough on your right. You glanced up and saw Bucky standing there watching you. 

"Oh my god! How are you so quiet?" You asked him.   
He shrugged his shoulders, "Just the training, I guess."   
You stared at each other for a few minutes before he spoke again. "I brought your book back. He pulled the book out from behind his back and offered it to you. You reached out and took it back from him.   
"Did you read it already?"   
"I did.. I liked it."   
"You did?" You smiled up at him. "I'm glad. I have the second one here if you want it."  
"Uh, yes. Thank you." 

You felt surprised he read the entire book in one day, but maybe he didn't have a lot on his schedule. 

He stood there looking down at the second book in his hands.   
"Do you want to sit down?" You offered tentatively.  
"Sure." He replied and took a seat in the same arm chair as last night. He fell quiet again so you broke the silence. 

"How was your day?"   
He looked back up at you and you were again startled at how blue his eyes were.   
"It was good. How about yours?"  
"Good. A bit tiring." You shrugged. 

"Did you spend the whole day with Banner?"  
"Yeah, we ran through a lot of tests and started to work on my powers a bit."   
"What are your powers?" He asked.  
"Uh, well I can kind of manipulate electricity. And apparently my skin has gotten a lot tougher."   
"What do you mean?"   
"He couldn't take my blood, the needle wouldn't go into my skin."   
"Has that happened before?"  
"Not really, no.. Well, this one time with a knife."  
He raised his eyebrows at you.  
"It was just an accident, not a big deal." You reassured him. You noted that he was much more talkative one on one than when there were other people around. 

"How did you get your powers?" Bucky continued.   
"Car accident. I was thrown from the car and electrocuted."   
He raised his eyebrows again. "Wow. Did that hurt?"   
"Parts of it, yeah. Then I kind of went numb after awhile."   
He paused for a moment.   
"We're the other people in the accident okay?"   
You took a deep breath. Man, you were talking about this more today than you had in the last several months.   
"Um.. No, the driver of the semi that hit us died in the hospital. And my husband who was driving our car was killed on impact."   
His eyes widened, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up anything painful."   
"No, no. It's okay." You reassured him with a smile, "It's good for me to talk about it." You found that you actually didn't mind talking about it with Bucky. He was very direct and somehow that put you at ease. 

You looked back up with him and he seemed uncomfortable.   
"So what did you like about the book?" You asked him. He glanced back up at you and blinked away the uncertainty in his eyes.   
"I liked Hogwarts. It seems like a nice place."   
"Yeah, I wish it were real. I guess this place is kind of like Hogwarts though." You mused.   
"How do?" He asked you, head tilted to the side.  
"Oh ya know, amazing people with special powers fighting bad guys. It's kind of the stuff of fairytales."   
"Hm I guess I never thought about it like that."

“There’s movies for those books also. They’re really good!”   
“There are?”   
“Yeah! Uh Friday? Do you have the Harry Potter movies?”  
“Yes, (y/n). Would you like to watch one?” Friday asked you.   
You looked over to Bucky. “Do you want to watch the first one?”   
“Yeah sure.” He smiled at you.   
“Yes Friday, please play the first Harry Potter movie.” You told her and the tv lit up and started to play the first movie. 

After the movie was over you stretched and turned to Bucky. “What’d you think?” You asked him.   
“I liked it a lot, but I think I liked the book better” he said.   
“Oh me too! If you want, we could watch the others together after you read the books?”   
He watched you for a minute with something unreadable in his eyes. You started to feel anxiety thinking you were stupid for assuming he’d want to spend more time with you when he opened his mouth to speak.   
“Yeah, that’d be cool.”   
You felt a little sigh of relief that you hadn’t weirded him out.  
“Okay cool. Well just let me know when you’re done with the second book.”   
“I will.” He said and you started to get a little lost in his eyes.

You came to yourself and cleared your throat.   
“Well I guess I should try to get some sleep before Bruce runs me through a bunch more tests tomorrow.” You chuckled and got up from the couch and grabbed your pride and prejudice book.   
You turned back to him. “See you tomorrow?”   
He smiled slightly at you, “See you tomorrow, (y/n).”


End file.
